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“What did she mean by that?” Carter asked, sitting back down beside me.
I had nothing to say. The sick feeling in my stomach started to get worse. It was like she had known all along. I took a sip of my water as my father’s speech droned on. All the while I continued to try to get Carter to leave, but he refused. He said I should be there to help my parents celebrate. As soon as my father had completed his speech and toast, dinner was served. Carter was involved in a conversation with a lawyer friend of my father’s, and I sat there quietly picking at my dinner, not really eating anything because my stomach was turning. I excused myself to use the washroom just before dessert was to be served.
“Are you feeling okay?” Carter whispered, grabbing my hand as I got up. “You’re awfully flushed.”
“I’m fine. I’ll be right back.” I squeezed his hand and headed toward the washroom.
As I entered the room, I was happy to see that it was empty. I walked over to the counter and looked at myself in the mirror. I could barely breathe, knowing what was coming. I had to get us out of there before Mr. King made his announcement; I just didn’t know how. I didn’t want to lose Carter again.
The bathroom door swung open and I glanced in the mirror to see Felice walk in. She gave me the cat-ate-the-canary smile and glared at me as she walked over to the sink and stood beside me. She placed her clutch down on the counter and searched through it. She pulled out her compact and dusted her face. “So, does he know?” I stood still, not knowing what to say. “I take it from your silence that he doesn’t. He’s going to be crushed, Hope, and it’s going to be all your fault. I told you to be careful.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will, just like you already have.” She threw her compact back into her bag, zipped it up, and grabbed her clutch, walking back over to the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll pick up the pieces, just like I did the last time. You know, I never thought I would say this to any woman, but you deserve my cousin.” She opened the door and headed back out to the party.
I looked at myself in the mirror, wiping the tears from my eyes. I grabbed my lip gloss and coated my lips before throwing it back into my bag. I quickly left the washroom. I had every intention of getting back to the table and telling Carter I had been sick and that I needed to go home. As I was walking across the room looking at Carter, I suddenly heard my name called. I stopped dead as the words that followed next literally shattered my heart in two. “Tonight, I’m happy to announce the engagement of my son, Trent King, to Hope Heathcote.”
Everyone stood up and started clapping, everyone except the person with whom I had locked eyes. He sat there staring at me, a look of confusion mixed with a completely gutted look on his face. Tears filled my eyes as he stood, nodded his head, turned, and walked away from me. A woman I barely recognized came over to me, took my hand, and walked me over to where Trent stood. I kept my eyes locked on Carter, constantly wiping the tears from my eyes. I watched him walk up the stairs we had come down. I had no time to chase after him because soon Trent and I were enveloped with people congratulating us and our parents.
Finally, after all the congratulating had been done, I fought to get away. I needed to find Carter. This was all a misunderstanding that I needed to sort out. I searched through the crowd for him, but I couldn’t see him. I pulled my phone from my purse and texted him as I continued to search through the sea of people, but there was no answer. I called him as I quickly headed to the front of the banquet hall, hoping and praying he was outside, thinking surely he would give me time to explain.
With the phone ringing in my ear, I ran out the front door looking to my left and then to my right. There were so many people out there that I had to slow down to scan over them once again. Finally, I saw him over against his car, his head hung low, staring at the ground. Tears filled my eyes. There was no way I was letting him get away from me this time; he had to believe that I didn’t want this. I went to call out to him, but my throat was so tight from fighting back tears, I knew there was no way he would hear me. I started running in his direction, but then I saw Felice walk up to him and throw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back, pulling her against him tightly. In that moment, everything stopped. I couldn’t breathe. I stood there watching as she placed a kiss on his cheek, and then he grabbed her tightly. She whispered something into his ear and then he kissed her, like he had kissed me not twelve hours ago. I was finished, my heart broken. I wasn’t sure what to do. I was angry at her, angry at him, and livid with my parents. I couldn’t keep my eyes off them; it was like I was punishing myself. Again, she whispered something in his ear, kissed him again, and then they both got into his car and drove away.
I crumbled onto the steps outside of the front door, my head in my hands. I let out an uncontrollable sob. In a matter of minutes, I had just lost the only thing I ever wanted. The fire burning in my gut told me that now was the time I needed to stand up to my father and find my way back to Carter.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Carter
We drove back to thehotel in silence. Felice waited in the car for me to run inside, change, and grab my bag. When I walked into the room, the first thing I saw was the messy bed, where Hope and I had made love and said I love you for the very first time, not more than six hours ago. I tried not to look, but when you don’t want to see something, it’s like you are blinded by it. I gathered my things, shoving everything into my bag, and headed back out to the car. Felice was silent all the way back to the city, holding my hand the whole way home. I had nothing to say, and even if I did, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I switched the radio on and thought about the girl I had always been in love with, and how she had burned me good this time, making me look like a fool. The first time had been a misunderstanding on both our parts, but this—this had been a blatant lie.
The drive home seemed to take forever, and I was exhausted by the time I pulled the car into my parking spot and shut the engine off. I leaned my head back against the headrest and shut my eyes, letting out a deep breath. I just sat there listening to the sounds of the traffic passing by. “Carter, we should go inside. It’s late.” I felt her hand slide onto my leg.
I left my bag in the car, and we walked into the apartment. After taking the elevator in silence, we walked down the hall toward our apartments. I planned to go in and go to bed; however, Felice had other ideas, and instead of her going into her apartment, she came into mine. I didn’t care. I didn’t have the energy to fight, and I was undecided as to whether I would rather have company or be alone right now. Kicking my shoes off, I headed for the fridge. “Want something to drink?”
“Sure.”
I reached in the fridge, pulling out two beers, opening hers and handing it to her before opening mine. Felice followed me into the living room. I flopped down onto the couch, putting my feet up on the table, and then turned on the TV. Felice sat beside me. I could feel her watching me as I flipped through the channels, trying to find something to watch.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked quietly.
“Fine. I’ll be fine.” I had no choice but to be fine. I would bury myself in my studies for the rest of the summer and forget all about Hope. What choice did I really have? I had done it once before; I could do it again. I glanced over to the chair and saw her grey sweatshirt flung over the arm. She had been wearing it the other morning when she got out of bed, and that was where it lay after I peeled her clothes off her and took her up against the wall. An overwhelming surge of hurt mixed with anger flowed through me, and I got up and walked over to where the shirt lay, grabbing it and whipping it into Carson’s room. All her shit was still here, which meant she would either have to come back or I would have to take it to her. I slammed his door shut, as if shutting it would erase everything that had happened.
“Carter,” Felice called.
“Felice, I said I would be fine.” I downed the remainder of my beer and went to the fridge for another one, taking it back into the living room and sitting back down beside her.
“Maybe you just need your mind redirected for a while,” she said, her fingers trailing along my collarbone.
I closed my eyes and let my head lie back, taking in the feel of her hand on my skin. I felt her switch positions and then felt her lips graze my ear. “I can make you forget her, Carter. Just give me a chance.”
I opened my eyes and looked at her, turning my head to meet her lips. I pulled her over onto me, so she was straddling my lap, my tongue sweeping through her mouth. Running my fingers through her hair, I started kissing down her neck. I could feel her hands running down my chest, and then she gripped my cock through my pants. “Give it to me, Carter. Fuck me hard.”
I opened my eyes, my hands falling away from her body. “Felice, I can’t do this.”
“Sure, you can, baby. Let me make you forget,” she begged, rubbing my cock through my jeans.
I reached down, pulling her hand off me. “Get off me. I can’t do this.”
